~$20US, 100% Chenin Blanc, Coteaux du Layon, Loire Valley

Classic Chenin nose, floral, with yellow peach and some woody aromas. Sweet and oily palate, left an overall cloying and flabby impression - just too much residual sugar and too little acidity to balance it. Not a bad dessert wine by any means - the fruit here is delicious and peachy clean but simple, just a little unbalanced. A good introduction to this producer that may improve with cellaring. If im going for a sweet Chenin, I’d rather lay down the extra cash for the more refined and age-worthy Baumard Clos Ste. Catherine, or Foreau’s Moelleuxs.

~$25US, 100% Chenin Blanc, Savennières, Loire Valley.

Bright gold. Immediately engaging nose - pulled me in like a Ken Burns documentary with a dazzling array of aromas; Fresh-cut grass, quartz landscaping rocks, a creamy goat-cheese component, bok-choy, wet leaves and pavement after a summer rain, seashells, fresh peaches, toast, fresh-cut flower stems, not-quite-ripe strawberries - it just kept giving and evolving…The palate was as dry as the nose complex and subtle, but with razor-sharp tartness and brightness.

The wine manages an elegance and suaveness despite the acidity with a mouth-coating body, and a seamless transition through a long, minerally finish. With 6 years of age, this is just singing, and I believe it will continue to improve for at least another 4-5 years. It rocked with Korean fair and I’m seriously temped to sneak a bottle into the dim-sum joint next time. There is both subtlety and intensity, and working together they blow my mind. It’s my favorite kind of wine; one that is serious, but doesn’t take itself too seriously - it begs you to enjoy it without diving too deeply into it, but rewards you if you do.

~$8US - 100% Chenin Blanc, South Africa

Very pale straw in the glass - almost clear. Really pleasant fresh aromas of pear and apple cider, with a little seaweed and rockiness that integrated nicely. Kind of ‘coastal’ feel in the mouth - like Oban or Clynelish whiskies with some saltiness, but the Chenin Blanc’s acidity really balanced the overall feel and kept it crisp. Creat complexity for an under-$10 wine. Where the Dry Creek brought an abundance of fruit to the table, the Teddy Hall had some fruit, but was overall more diverse with the rockiness and briney flavors and a cleaner, drier finish. Peaches and dried floral notes on the finish. A perfect weeknight white for lighter fare and seafood - it accented some of the subtler flavors in the pan-seared sea scallops we enjoyed with it. Solid.

Meadowlark Cabernet-Syrah 2005 - Napa Valley: Black currant, green peppers, wet sticks and tree bark. Some petrol notes after some air-time. Juicy and fruit forward, full-bodied and well built. This is good wine - no doubt, but this point in my wine-journey, I’m realizing that I’m just not down with green-pepper in my Cabernet…I know it shows up often, but I can’t do it. Just a personal thing (being allergic to them). Probably wont rebuy.

Baumard Clos de Ste. Catherine 2002 - Loire - Coteaux du Layon (Chenin Blanc): Complex noise of marzipan, peach nectar, baking spices, honey. SWEET! Dessert style. Biting acidity to keep things in balance - but the tongue-coating sweetness won. Viscous. Some unpleasant bitterness right before the finished tainted the overall experience for me. I would rebuy another vintage only if I had some more friends interested in trying it too.

Amisfield Pinot Noir 2004 - New Zealand - Central Otago: Wow. Dr. Pepper, ripe and black cherries, strawberry jam, wild mushrooms, and plush velvet. Expansive and deep, but not over-the-top. Silky. Simply wonderful - a serious effort from NZ showing that they have something unique to say about Pinot. Love it. Rebuy.

~$12US %100 Chenin Blanc, Saumur, Loire Valley, France

Color: Medium Gold
Nose: Bracing and complex - green apple, lime zest, pineapple, under-ripe strawberries, honey
Palate: Medium-bodied, citrus freshness, river-rocks, piercing acidity in the midpalate
Finish: Fairly lengthy - tart, appetizing grapefruit and mineral water

A complex wine, not easy (for me) to like at first - but definitely finely crafted. A ‘grower’. While I appreciate fresh acidity, this was straight-up sour right after I popped the bottle. But, even at 5 years old, the wine really rounded out over the course of a few hours, making me think it could use another 2-3 years to continue improving. With some air-time, it became more integrated and nuanced - especially on the nose. Stylistically, this wine must be paired with food you’d squeeze a lemon on - I could imagine it being magic with with fresh oysters and shellfish. A specialized wine, well done.